Nebraska
by Bruce Springsteen

Nebraska is better than Born to Run, he's so very honest and down-to-earth on this masterpiece. the themes are nihilistic, dark, and consistent. it opens with a song about a ruthless, disaffected murderer from first person perspective. it continues with powerful lyrics on atlantic city: "I got debts no honest man could pay," "so I got 2 tickets on that coast city bus," "down here it's just winners and losers and don't get caught on the wrong side of that line, well I'm tired of comin' out on the losin' end, so honey last night I met this guy and I'm gonna do a little favor for him, well I guess everything dies baby that's a fact...."

every track after is told from the perspective of someone who's done or is doing something wrong for some reason or another. he tells it matter of factly, as though they're just unlucky, all just playing the cards they were dealt: "the bank was holdin' my mortgage and they was takin' my house away, now I ain't sayin' that makes me an innocent man, but it was more than all this that put that gun in my hand." this, after being sentenced to life, b4 asking instead for the death penalty.... strong stuff.

another song is from the perspective of a cop who claims always to have done an honest job. his brother gets in trouble with the law though and in a high speed chase, the cop lets him get away. the cop's values, "a man turns his back on his family, he just ain't no good" clashed with his duty to do his job and he did the only thing he really could have. he puts the reasons to catch his brother on one side of the scale, the reasons to let him go on the other, and the reasons to let him go just outweighed the reasons to catch him. he doesn't get to choose how important each reason is - how much weight they have. he doesn't get to choose for those reasons to exist in the first place. the understanding of how ppl can do terrible things and not place blame or judge is the point here. most ppl are too naive, short-sighted, ignorant, and stupid to agree with this point of view though, else this album would be ranked higher. of course you need your delusions of control, your "choice." lol, pathetic.

'reason to believe' is so powerful and a perfect closer. "struck me kinda funny, yeah it's funny sir to me/ how at the end of every hard-earned day people find some reason to believe." cold as ice. no BS from the boss, he tells it like it is. life's a b*&^% and then you die.

PERFECT album cover as well.

his more commercial material gains perspective from this. for the great production, the whole band, AND lyrics that are real, check out Darkness on the Edge of Town, another masterpiece of his, if Nebraska is too downbeat, stripped back, or depressing for you.

Bruce Springsteen's record company probably didn't no whether to laugh or cry when he handed them his new album. Nebraska, wasn't exactly commercial material, it was an 11 track album, full of acoustic demo's, that Springsteen had failed to turn into an E street band record. Possibly, Springsteen promised Columbia, a more accessible album the next time round. Nebraska is a bleak, monochrome, postcard of an America full of serial killers, down on their luck gamblers, wayward brothers of small town cops, and, every day blue collar guys. It certainly isn't a barrel of laughs, and unlike later acoustic releases, the ghost of Tom Joad, and, devils' n' dust, it's a lot less slick, it's rawness is almost unsettling. The title track was inspired by a real life event, and also by Terence Malick's brilliant movie version, badlands. Atlantic city, is probably the best song on the album, with, Johnny 99, highway patrolman, and, reason to believe, also standouts. It certainly would be interesting to hear the attempted E street band versions, maybe that will be Springsteen's next box set release. Nebraska, is a challenging listen, and I would have thought it would only be enjoyed by boss fans, but i know people who aren't Springsteen fans, but like this album. It's definitely one of his most important records, and has been hugely influential on the lo-fi/alt.country scene. If Springsteen had given his assurances about his next release being more commercial, he certainly didn't let them down. Next for Bruce was, born in the USA, and superstardom.

From zags7000 06/11/2015 09:04 | #143542 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

This may not be his most exciting but this is his best written and most daring. It may not be others favorite (though it is mine) but this is his crowning achievement.

It must have taken an act of God for Columbia Records to release a cassette home demo as a studio album. In an era of overproduction, this preceded nearly all mass-marketed albums with indie, lo-fi or sparce production. Today, most Americana artists try to produce studio albums modeled after the magic of these home demos. This record is dark but delicate. Every song is a miniature movie, with characters and a story about their struggles. A true landmark.

Essential.

A Side: Atlantic City
B Side: Highway Patrolman (Edited)

From junodog4 TOP 100 COMMENTER 03/07/2012 22:07 | #37985 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

So much better than Born In The USA. Raw, deep and powerful. Resonates with anyone.